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Responsible Manufacturing

The planet deserves our protection and HZO is doing its part. HZO prides itself in being a leader in responsible manufacturing, supporting the elimination of pollution threats to the environment.

We stand committed to maintaining a wholesome environment by contributing to the cause in four ways:

  • Understanding the importance of being green today.
  • Using green and sustainable materials.
  • Focusing on safe and responsible manufacturing processes.
  • Providing protection that promotes sustainability.

Importance of Being Green Today

HZO believes that every manufacturer has the responsibility to do their part when it comes to being able to reduce harmful substances that can find their way into the ground, water, or atmosphere.

HZO actively adheres to or exceeds the initiatives of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE www.ieee.org), who published international standards that establish voluntary benchmarks for the design and manufacturing of PCBAs, cabling, monitors, and other electrical components. Further support goes out to the Green Electronics Council (GEC www.greenelectronicscouncil.org), in conjunction with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT www.epeat.net), work together to help manufacturers, government and industry adopt and adhere to green manufacturing processes where possible.

HZO’s support includes:

  • Green material usage
  • Material oversight
  • Proactive chemical management
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Preparation for repair, reuse, and recycling
  • Responsible end-of-life management

Parylene as a conformal coating

Most coatings can’t measure up to the unparalleled protection of Parylene. It’s truly conformal delivering the ultimate barrier protection with a long history of successful use in critical applications including consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace and defense, medical device, and industrial products. It’s physically transparent, dielectric, and conforms to the USP Class VI and ISO 10993 standards.

Parylene protects against water, light sweat, salt, corrosion, dirt, dust, sand, blood, sticky beverages, sulfuric gasses, and more. You can see it, touch it, and feel it. It’s organic, biocompatible, and is meant to nearly outlive the electrical component itself.

It forms a permanent bond, just like the kind we prefer with our customers.

HZO has perfected the processes of applying Parylene compounds to everything from tablets and smart phones, consumer audio and video, industrial components, and automotive components, to sensors, cameras, hearing aids and more, safely, within budget, at scale, and on time. This provides protection both water and corrosion protection to industrial electrical products, as well as, water and sweat protection for consumer electronics.

Plasma-based nano coatings

Plasma-based nano coatings change the surface of a product so that water beads up and rolls off, giving it a hydrophobic effect. These coatings are true “nano coatings” measuring less than the width of a human hair. Instead of water, humidity, steam, moisture, beverages, sweat, or light rain seeping into the device being protected (e.g. printed circuit board), these substances will bead up and roll off.

Plasma-based nano coatings are applied at a micron-thin layers and are marginally conformal.

Hybrid Solutions with both Thin-Film Conformal Coatings and Nano Coatings

Magic happens when you combine Parylene, plasma-based nano coatings, and/or other coating solutions. To what scale the solution contains more of either ingredients, depends on the project needs. Exploring hybrid coating solutions may provide benefits such as:

  • Lower price points
  • Improved protection
  • Greater hydrophobicity
  • Higher temperature tolerances
  • Quicker process times

HZO is continuously advancing its hybrid solution suite found in our Spectrum of ProtectionTM.

Manufacturing Processes

HZO has methods and practices in place, before, during, and after manufacturing that keep the thin-film solutions safe and environmentally friendly, no matter which of the above solutions you might end up choosing.

Our proprietary machines, designed and built in house, apply our coatings in a safe and controlled environment, complete with specific checks and balances during the procedure to keep the staff, building, and atmosphere free of pollutants. If a plasma-based nano coating does end up having solvents or VOCs after being applied, these are scrubbed and safely disposed of prior to the end of the coating process.

Regardless of what HZO solution you choose, you can have the peace of mind that the materials are either organic, have no threat to polluting the environment, or both. HZO’s proprietary solutions fortify our ability to maintain responsible manufacturing practices. HZO is constantly discovering, advancing, and perfecting new ways of providing next generation coatings.

Protection Promoting Sustainability

HZO also supports green technology by reducing premature end-of-life failures of electrical devices, which reduces e-waste.

The life of a cell phone, for example, can be as short as 18 months. That doesn’t take into consideration devices returned early or discarded due to moisture damage or corrosion. HZO specifically reduced early failure of electronics due to moisture and environmental contamination, through adding protection after the PCBA manufacturing process. With the PCBA protected against, sweat, dust, beverages, coffee, water, and more, there are less electronic devices ending up prematurely in e-waste graveyards.

Because HZO is the industry-standard leader in electronic component liquid protection, HZO is always prepared to:

  • Offer a custom-made solution for every need.
  • Deliver solutions at scale and a price point that “just works.”
  • Guarantee sustainable practices.

With HZO, we have you covered at every step of the coating process, protecting the planet along the way.

Reach out to see how else we can help!

Discover how HZO can protect your product